The 100th birthday anniversary of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher this week has prompted a new look at the unique relationship between the “Iron Lady” and former President Ronald Reagan.
Arriving at a time of instability seen in the Russia-Ukraine war and hope after President Donald Trump’s successful push to a Middle East truce, Thatcher’s cooperation with the “Gipper” on several fronts, critically the dismantling of the Soviet Union, is now being offered as the “model” for world-changing diplomacy.
The always-active Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute took the lead in London Thursday and Friday to draw attention to the special relationship with events celebrating Thatcher’s 100th and how she and Reagan impacted the world.
Today, the foundation rededicated the statue of Reagan in London’s Grosvenor Square, the former site of the U.S. Embassy now three miles away and across the River Thames.
“That relationship is really a model for what we should aspire to with our relations, with our allies and partners,” said David Trulio, president of the Reagan Foundation and Institute.
He told Washington Secrets from London that the anniversary provided a chance to remind the world — and especially youth — of how Reagan and Thatcher helped steer world affairs 40 years ago.
“We certainly want to advance its knowledge in the collective consciousness. If you look at the demographics of our societies, roughly half of Americans have no living memory of Ronald Reagan. So I think it’s a duty for all of us who did through that era, or experienced parts of that era, to share the insights and the magnitude of the relationship between our countries and those leaders, and to shed light on why its importance endures to this day,” said Trulio.
As president, Reagan drew a hard line against the Soviet Union. Thatcher, meanwhile, viewed Kremlin leader Mikhail Gorbachev differently after meeting him and convinced Reagan that they could work with him.
Their trust in each other and the centuries of ties between the United States and the United Kingdom provided a base they built on, and that was highlighted this week.
“I think the headline is that the special relationship is alive and well. It has weathered challenges we have. But I think another takeaway is that this goes beyond government-to-government relationships; this is cultural. This has its roots in shared values of limited government, representative government of liberty, and even in recent years, as in past years, we have fought together. So I think the key of this is not just about two governments getting along or being able to address hard challenges. These are about two peoples, these common ties,” Trulio said.
The rarity of the Reagan-Thatcher relationship hasn’t been replicated, though some presidents have come close.
I asked Trulio about Trump, and he pointed to the budding relationship between the president and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
“The pair have a very good relationship now. Obviously, every relationship, as in interpersonal relations, as well as relations between countries, have ups and downs. There are challenges. I think one of the really important elements of this is that friends can sometimes speak frankly to friends in a way that others can’t. So that’s one of the many layers of great value in this, in the special relationship,” he said.
Trump this week also showed the product of his long relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with the ceasefire on Gaza and return of the Oct. 7, 2023 hostages taken by Hamas.
“It’s been certainly remarkable to see President Trump and the role that he played in the recent peace deal. It’s remarkable to see him in Israel with the return of the hostages. And I think that in the tradition of President Reagan engaging in face-to-face diplomacy and being personally engaged and literally engaged with the other leaders face-to-face. So I think in that regard, President Trump is clearly a practitioner,” said Trulio.
Still, he added, the Reagan-Thatcher relationship has been hard to match. “Well, you know, President Trump is his own man, and he’s developed relationships with world leaders. I think it’s hard to — in the moment — to see that right now. So I’m going to sort of let a little time on the clock go on before weighing in on something like that,” said the Reagan expert.
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As in the U.S., Trulio said there are warm and respectful memories in the United Kingdom of Reagan. But it’s always good to remind people of what he and Thatcher accomplished.
“I think it’s a really valuable opportunity to not only reflect on Reagan’s legacy, of course, his relationship with Prime Minister Thatcher, but also to reflect on that special relationship. And I think drawing attention to that, it helps us ensure that that relationship stays strong and is appropriately valued and appropriately leveraged to address the challenges that our respective countries face and that the world faces,” Trulio added.
